


Hunger Strike

by mallaidh (orphan_account)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Ereri Week 2015, Kidnapping, M/M, Supernatural Elements, Vampire!Eren, idk this is kinda weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-03 00:03:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4078948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/mallaidh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ereri Week 2015 day 5 - Mythology</p><hr/><p>"How long exactly have you been on hunger strike?"</p><p>"Since this morning. It's been going well so far, but I always seem to falter around dinnertime."</p><p>Levi closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. This vampire was an idiot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hunger Strike

**Author's Note:**

> ok I so I assume vampires and stuff count as mythology? idk, I'm using creative license here.  
> Also, I wrote this pretty much last night, so if the ending seems rushed, that's why. 
> 
> warnings for violence and blood and stuff! it's not overly graphic, just be aware that it's there!

Fight rings were illegal, and had been for some time now. However, human beings were a surprisingly bloodthirsty bunch. Bloodthirsty enough to bend the law and run the fights underground. Vampires, werewolves, trolls, witches and every creature the hunters were able to catch were sold off to the illegal rings, where they were forced to fight each other in front of paying audiences.

Levi, however, was not there to fight. Levi was food. The men that had captured him had assured him of that. He was human, so they couldn't put him in the ring to fight - he would be torn apart in seconds, and that didn't make for good entertainment. He was little more than a snack, something to be thrown to a beast to reward it for its bloodshed. It made him feel sick to his stomach.

There was no way Levi was going to his death without a fight. He scratched and kicked and punched as best as he could, and even when he was outnumbered and the men were far bigger than he was, he still kicked on. The men overpowered him eventually though, and dragged him down the dark corridor of whatever shithole they were operating from. Cells lined the corridor on both sides, and creatures were snarling and screeching from behind the doors, reacting to the smell of Levi's blood as it leaked sluggishly from his torn knees and knuckles.

The corridor was dark and dank and Levi's tennis shoes were being dragged through stagnant and dirty puddles. The cold shackles around his wrists were rubbing his skin raw, and his struggles echoed through the concrete corridor. The sunlight was too far behind him to cast shadows, and the darkness was too close in front of him to be able to see anything through it.

"In here." One of the men announced, holding Levi tight by the neck to restrain him. One of his companions stepped towards the door he had gestured to, sliding back a hatch to peer in. Satisfied with whatever he saw, he stepped back and nodded to the leader, who turned with a nasty smirk to Levi. "The beast is hungry."

The man threw Levi inside and he stumbled and fell to his knees. The door shut, plunging the cell into total darkness. Levi stayed frozen on his hands and knees on the dirty floor, listening for the 'beast'. There was only silence and darkness, so Levi crawled sideways into a corner to his left. His breathing was harsh and loud in the oppressive quiet, and he pressed himself firmly into the wall. The darkness was absolute; he waved a hand in front of his face and couldn't even see movement.

He still couldn't hear the beast. Maybe they had just been fucking with him, lying and toying with him for their own sick amusement. He pulled his knees up to his chest. It was freezing in the cell, and his body had begun to tremble. Panic was rising up his stomach and into his throat as his situation began to finally sink in. He was stuck here in this underground cell, waiting to be fed to some vicious creature to give them energy to tear some other vicious creatures apart. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he bit his lip harshly to keep himself from crying.

He was fairly certain he was alone in the cell now. Anything living in the small space would surely have stirred by now. So the men had been playing games with him. When Levi got out of there, he was going to tear them apart.

"Hello." said a voice in the darkness.

"Fuck!" Levi pressed himself further into the corner, squinting into the darkness in an attempt to distinguish any shapes.

"I'm not going to hurt you." The voice promised. It sounded like the voice of a young man, although it was hard to tell. "Probably."

Oh, that was reassuring. "Who are you?" Levi's voice was louder than he had intended, probably from fear.

"I'm Eren. This is my cell. You're sitting in my favourite corner."

Levi frowned. "Sorry."

"It's okay, you can have it."

"What's going to happen to me?" Levi asked, clenching his fists. If this was the beast, he wasn't sure how to feel - he was very polite for a monster hungry for flesh.

"Haven't they told you? They usually tell people. I think they like the smell of their fear."

"They told me you were going to eat me."

"Oh, so they did tell you. Well, technically you wouldn't be food, you'd be drink."

The sound of Levi swallowing was clearly audible in the silence. "You're a vampire." He felt cold. He was so fucked.

"Yeah. Heh. But don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

"They literally threw me into this shithole so you could feed on me. You expect me to believe you're not going to kill me?"

"I'm not!" Eren insisted. "I'm on hunger strike."

"Hunger strike." Levi deadpanned. The cold from the concrete wall was seeping into his thin shirt, and he shivered violently.

"Yep. I don't want to play their game anymore. I'm done. I'm not fighting anymore, I'm not going to be some _pawn_ for their freakish, perverted amusement."

"Uh huh."

"You see, they throw in a morsel for creatures to feed on before a big fight, to keep their strength up. Strong creatures draw a crowd. Who wants to pay to see some starving weaklings flail around at each other, right?" When there were no sound of assent or dissent from Levi, Eren ploughed on. "So if I don't eat, they won't put me in the pit. I've been here for three months, and I've had enough."

"How long exactly have you been on hunger strike?"

"Since this morning. It's been going well so far, but I always seem to falter around dinnertime."

Levi closed his eyes (though it didn't make much of a difference) and leaned his head back against the wall. This vampire was an idiot. "Your plan doesn't make any sense. Surely they're going to make you fight whether you're weak or not? People will pay money either way."

"Why are you trying to talk me out of this? I've been draining every person they've been throwing to me. You're lucky today's the day I changed my mind."

"What'll happen when they realise I'm alive?"

Eren was silent for a long moment. "They don't waste food. If I don't feed on you, they'll give you to someone else."

It took a fair amount of effort not to hiss at being called food. "I see."

"What's your name?"

"Levi." He said, after a moment of hesitation.

"Huh. Levi. I've never known any of my meals' names. You'll probably be dead by tomorrow night, Levi."

Levi didn't say anything to that. There wasn't much he could say.

\--

Over the next four hours, Eren repeatedly attempted to initiate conversation. Levi mostly ignored him. The vampire was clearly lonely, but Levi was a little too busy being worried for his own life to focus on keeping up a conversation about bridge trolls.

"-I mean, they're big, yeah, but they're slow, and to be honest they're not very bright. I'm fast, so I can pretty much run circles around them. They can be really strong too, but with my speed I can-"

"I need to piss." Levi announced, interrupting Eren's tirade about bridge trolls.

For a moment, there was simply darkness and silence.

"Well," Eren said eventually, "this is awkward."

"So what do I do? Knock on the door or something?" Embarrassment made him angry, and his words came out harsh.

"Um.. I don't know. None of my meals have ever lasted this long."

Frustrated, Levi pushed himself to his feet and felt his way across the small cell until his fingers brushed the smooth metal of the door. He began hammering on it and shouting. "Hey! Hey, you fuckers! I need to piss!"

He could hear some of the prisoners in the other cells call out predictably vile comments and suggestions, but then a new voice that was clearer that the rest shouted out "Shut up in there!"

Levi kicked the door multiple times. "I need to fucking piss!"

The little hatch was slid open, and the bright beam of a torch blinded Levi, causing him to immediately look away. "What's going on?" The man with the flashlight demanded, looking past Levi into the cell. "Why the hell isn't he dead yet?"

"I need to piss." Levi told him, blinking rapidly to clear the dark spots dancing in his vision.

"Why isn't he dead yet?" The man repeated, ignoring Levi.

"I'm on hunger strike." Eren announced.

"What? Are fucking kidding me?" The man shoved his torch in through the hatch in an attempt to see into Eren's corner. Levi snatched it out of the man's grip. "Give that back!" He roared.

"I'll give it back when you let me go to the bathroom!" Levi shouted back, waving it in front of the man's face.

"You're supposed to be dead!"

"Well I'm alive, and I need to piss!"

The man snarled and slammed the hatch shut. Levi could hear him striding away, and he nearly shrieked out of sheer frustration.

"I won't look." Eren said, "I promise. I won't even tell anyone about it. Your dignity is safe with me."

Angrily, Levi swung the torch around. The beam of light fell upon a boy around his age, maybe a little younger. Definitely no older than nineteen. He was languishing in the corner with his back against the wall and one long leg pulled up to his chest, the other splayed out on the ground. His jeans were torn and dirty and his boots were scuffed. His torso was bare, and the light from the torch illuminated the lean muscles of his arms and the scratches and scars across his well-muscled chest. Longish, messy brown hair fell into his bright eyes, and a wicked smile was playing across his face.

Levi let the torch beam drift down his torso again, marvelling at the way the light caught the chiselled lines of the Eren's muscled chest.

"Um." Eren frowned, "I'm feeling a little objectified right now."

"Don't flatter yourself." Levi scoffed, turning the torch away in an attempt to hide the slight pink tint to his cheeks. He cast the light around the cell, taking in the sharp corners. There was no windows and no cameras. Levi sighed violently, and whipped the torch back around to Eren. "Look away."

"Got it." Eren squeezed his eyes shut.

 _This is disgusting_ , Levi thought as he crept into an empty corner and pulled down his pants. He kept the light trained on Eren, ready to blind him should the vampire try to sneak a peek, but Eren seemed determined to keep his promise - his eyes were screwed so tightly shut it looked painful. Levi stood there for a moment with his pants around his knees, and then scowled. "Talk."

"What?"

" _Talk._ I can't piss in silence."

"Are you bladder-shy?"

" _No_ , I just don't like the thought of you listening to me piss. This is awkward enough."

"Fine. Okay. Um.. Okay. So I have this weird nervous reaction whenever I'm being chased, I just start to laugh. And I mean, it's kind of unfortunate whenever I'm being pursued or whatever, because no one ever takes me seriously. One time, I accidentally pissed off this group of leprechauns and they were chasing me through a food market in Chinatown, and I was literally just _crying_ with laughter-"

Levi let the ridiculous story wash over him, and the sound of his pee tinkling against the dirty concrete floor was muffled by Eren's voice. Unconsciously, he found himself relaxing as his bladder emptied and Eren giggled at his own story.

"-and _then_ , one of the leprechauns was like _"What makes you think we came alone?"_ , and I totally thought he was bluffing, but then he screamed " _Gladys!_ " and the next thing I know the biggest leprechaun I've ever seen broke through the wall of the bus station!"

Levi pulled up his jeans and zipped his fly. He stepped back to his old corner and sat down, turning off the torch to conserve the battery. They were plunged into darkness again, but Eren kept talking.

"-I'm not even kidding about this, she had legs like tree trunks, and her body was like a solid slab of meat. And her clothes! I swear, she was wearing some weird tunic made out of like twenty wedding dresses sewn together-"

The sound of Eren's energetic story-telling lulled Levi into a half-asleep state. It probably wasn't a good idea to fall asleep in this dingy cell with a hungry vampire, no matter how muscled and adorable said vampire was. No matter how much said vampire was giggling at his own story. Even so, Levi soon fell asleep.

\--

Levi didn't sleep well.

He was hounded by nightmares of him being dragged off the street, kicking and screaming, and a dark voice hissing _"It's either you or the girl"_. He dreamt of Isabel and Farlan, alone and waiting for him at home. Of how worried they must be. He was supposed to be there for him, and now they had to deal with him disappearing without a trace. Would they think he was dead? He dreamed of Isabel's tearstained face, Farlan's quiet desolation.

Morning came, and Levi awoke to the ever-present darkness and a crick in his neck.

"I'm sorry." Eren's voice sounded weak.

Levi paused cautiously, sitting up. His neck and back twinged in pain from the awkward position he'd been sleeping in. "..why?"

"They're coming. I can hear the stadium filling up."

Ah. Vampire hearing. "Oh." Barely a minute awake, and Levi already wanted to be unconscious again. "So.. what's going to happen to me?"

"They'll come for you. They'll take you to be fed to someone else. I'm sorry."

"Ah."

They didn't talk much after that. When they did, Eren's voice was dry and thin, and there was a hint of anger behind it. More than anger; it was fury and violence. He was trying to disguise it, but it was too potent to hide, and Levi was too familiar with it to not recognise it.

Outside the cell, a light switched on.

Levi stood, grip tightening tightening on his torch. He could hear Eren shifting in the corner.

The door opened, and two men stepped in. Levi recognised one as the man whose torch he had stolen. The bigger man paused, staring at Levi. "What the hell?"

"I told you!" said the man whose torch Levi had stolen, "I told you he wasn't drinking!"

"Why the fuck isn't he dead yet, vampire?"

"I told you last week," Eren said calmly, "I'm on strike." He was still leaning casually against the wall, looking sinfully good and far too chill considering their situation and his previous fury. Levi looked at him with a mixture of admiration and disbelief.

"And why would you think that changes anything?"

"The crowd out there is baying for blood. I can hear them. I'm the best fighter you have, and you know it. They're expecting a certain standard. Anything less, and you'll be losing valued customers. With me as weak as I am, it's not going to be a thrilling fight."

"So you think we're going to let you forfeit just because we don't want to upset your fans?"

"That would be the reasonable thing to do."

Levi glanced at Eren out of the corner of his eye, wondering how the fuck the vampire had decided that was a reasonable conclusion.

The big man seemed to share Levi's thoughts as he threw his head back and laughed. "I hate to break it to you, but you're really not that entertaining. If it's a _show_ you want to give that crowd, I think I have just the idea." A slow, malicious smile began to creep across the mans face, revealing yellowing teeth that looked like chipped bricks. It was unsettling, and Levi glanced at Eren again to see that he looked equally unnerved. "You'll be fighting Reiner."

Eren's whole body tensed up. Levi could see the hard lines of muscle tautening in the low light that filtered in from the doorway, and he forced himself not to stare. "You... you can't put me against Reiner."

"Why not? Surely that would make the best entertainment of all. Eren, the weakened champion, going up against Reiner, the strong new contender." The man stepped to the side, allowing two more men to file in. They had a gun trained at Eren's head, keeping him still as they slapped shackled on his wrists. They began to pull him towards the door.

"You can't put me in the ring with him, he's at full strength!" Eren protested, unsuccessfully trying to pull away from the burly men holding him.

"You should have fed when you had the chance."

Eren's head whipped round to look at Levi. They made eye contact just long enough for Levi to see the unmistakable panic in the vampire's bright gaze, and then Eren was dragged out the door and out of sight. Swallowing hard, Levi pressed himself back in the corner, half-heartedly hoping that he'd been forgotten about.

No luck. The man turned and grinned nastily at him. "I have no idea how you managed to keep him away from you, but you won't get so lucky twice. You're going in the ring. We'll see how fond he is of you then."  
He grabbed Levi's shackles and dragged him out of the cell.

Levi struggled hard, but the man shouted for reinforcements and he was forcibly subdued by several men built like brick walls. He was dragged through a narrow passage that linked to a larger tunnel. He could hear faint chanting.

Eventually they came to a large set of wooden doors at the end of the tunnel, and they came to a stop right in front of them. Levi eyed them apprehensively. He could hear the crowd on the other side, screaming in a frenzy. He thought of Eren, of the strange and stubborn shitty vampire that was going to be forced to fight one of his own kind at half-strength, and felt an irritating sense of worry. It was irritating because he knew he shouldn't be worried for the creature that he had been kidnapped to feed, he should be worried for himself, and should be worried about where these doors lead.

Then the man stepped forward and opened the doors, and Levi was shoved roughly through and he had no time to worry about himself before he found himself landing hard on.. sand?

He raised his head, and found hundreds of beady eyes trained on his every move. He was in a fenced off type of pit, and there were stands surrounding the arena like a football stadium. The crowd was staring down at him, laughing and chatting and singing as if they had come to watch a football match. It was fucking _insane_.  
The night sky twinkled above him, and he saw that several people in the crowd had brought colourful umbrellas, as though they were expecting rain. It was so _mundane_ and totally out of place considering the situation that it made Levi feel strangely disconnected from himself.

The crowd hushed all of a sudden and directed their gaze to the front of the arena. Levi turned and followed their gaze to see a man standing in a small area that had been cleared of seats save one. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" He called, his voice carrying despite his lack of microphone. "Welcome to the fights!"

The crowd roared in appreciation, and Levi felt the ground vibrate beneath his feet. He figured they were an easy crowd to please.

"What a show we have in store for you, tonight!" The announcer continued, pleased by the crowds reaction, "Vicious animal against vicious animal. Monster against monster. These are the creatures you've only heard about in bedtime stories!"

Some of the audience squealed in horrified delight, and Levi sneered in disgust. These humans were no better than the monsters they paid to see. They were worse, even. They made him feel sick.

"Tonight, we have a special surprise! Two vampires face off in an epic battle to the death! But what is a good fight without a few surprises?" He paused for dramatic effect, and then continued on without explaining any of the mentioned special surprises, presumably also for dramatic effect. "And now, introducing our fighters!"

The doors to Levi's left opened, and he whirled around to face them. A guy around his age was led through, shackled from his hands to his feet. He had closely shaved blond hair and dull eyes, and he was huge. Far taller than Levi, and probably taller than Eren too. He wore blood-spattered jeans that had been cut off just before his knees, and his torso was bare like Eren's. Even from this distance, Levi could clearly see the fangs splitting his gums.

"Reiner!" The announcer said gleefully, drawing a chorus of cheers and boos, "One of our new contenders! With eight wins under his belt, he's proving to be quite the little monster! Aren't you, Reiner?"

Reiner didn't respond. His narrowed eyes were busy sweeping the stands, calculating. His gaze fell on Levi seconds later, and one of his blond brows inched up his forehead. Levi felt himself tensing, realising slowly what was about to happen; he was going to be trapped in the pit with the vampires as they fought.

Just as that thought occurred to him, the doors to his left opened and Eren was shoved in, chains clanking. He stumbled, and the man behind him shoved a shotgun into the back of his neck. Levi could see the claws tipping Eren's hand, and felt fear tighten his chest. He couldn't rely on Eren to be so kind as to politely refuse to eat him, this time.

"And tonight, he will be facing... Eren! Our long-time champion and favourite of many!"

Both vampires were brought to different sides of the pit, and Levi was dragged forward into the middle. He kept his eyes on Eren as he was thrown onto the sand, was able to see the horror shining in those green-blue eyes.

"To add some excitement, we've added a new aspect to the fight!" The announcer shouted, to be met by excited whispers, "Patrons of the arena, tonight we are adding a light snack for these fearsome fighters! For tonight, you will be able to witness a vampire feasting!"

The roar of the crowd was deafening as the shackles were taken off both of the vampires. Eren listed slightly to the side once he was freed. Levi could only pray that he wasn't as weak as he had said he was, because if he was, this would be a very short fight.

 _"Let the fight begin!_ "

Reiner was moving before the announcer had even finished his sentence, and Levi felt his heart jump into his throat when he realised the vampire was headed straight for him.

"Fuck!" He turned and ran, swearing loudly and with great gusto. The crowd went fucking nuts. He could hear the soft pounding of the vampire approaching, and panic began to claw its way up his throat; there was no way he'd be able to get away from this fucking creature, there was nowhere to run in the arena. He was going to die here.

And then Eren jumped over Levi's head (as if he needed another reminder of how short he was) and collided hard with the bigger vampire. Levi stumbled and hit the ground, spinning around and crawling backwards as he watched Reiner and Eren circle each other. The snarled and snapped at each other, baring fangs and hunching shoulders. Reiner attacked and Eren spun away, but Reiner pushed forwards, cutting off all Eren's escape routes.

Reiner was practically vibrating with energy, and every movement he made was sharp and vibrant. On the other hand, Eren's movements were weaker, more controlled. He was lethargic, and he looked like he had been sedated in comparison to his opponent.

Above them, bets were being shouted and bookies were taking money with delight and scribbling in coloured notebooks. Reiner pummelled Eren, knocking him around the arena, only letting him get up to knock him back down again. The blond vampire didn't seem to be deriving any enjoyment from it - he didn't seem half as bloodthirsty as the announcer had made him out to be. His eyes were dull, his expression carefully devoid of any emotion as he smacked Eren so hard his head snapped back. He just seemed tired, like an animal at the zoo who stared at a single tree day in and day out.

Then he punched Eren hard, and as Eren crumpled to the sand he turned, his dull eyes catching on Levi. He didn't look like a sad, tired zoo animal anymore. Now he just looked _hungry_.

"Fucking shit." Levi cursed, bolting to his feet and running to the other end of the pit. He didn't even have a clear destination, he was just trying to prolong his life and avoid getting eaten for as long as possible.

A hand caught him around the ankle and he came crashing down with a yell. He turned on his back just as Reiner made to jump on him, and kicked up with all his might. His foot made contact with Reiner's face, and apparently all those swimming lessons had paid off because his legs were strong and his kick had a lot of power behind it. Not enough to fully down an actual vampire, but enough for Reiner to make a sound like a wounded dog and roll away, clutching his face. Levi used the momentary reprieve to dart to his feet and run.

Realistically, he knew there was no chance of him surviving this vampire showdown on his own. They were bigger and stronger and blessed with supernatural speed and agility. The only real chance he had was to stick with Eren and hope he had enough self-control to remember that he was on hunger-strike. At least, if that even still applied.

Levi adjusted his course, sprinting straight for Eren. The screaming of the crowd thundered in his ears as he skidded to a stop by the vampire's body and crouched down. "Hey! Get the fuck up!"

Eren groaned.

"We are about to fucking _die_! I am not getting eaten today, get the fuck up!" Levi shook him, and then delivered a harsh punch to his shoulder. When that failed to rouse him, Levi made a spur of the moment decision. It was a stupid idea, and it hadn't been thought out very well (at all, really), but Levi still shoved his wrist right into Eren's face. "Feed."

Unnaturally bright eyes blinked up at him in confusion. "Muh?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? You have super advanced vampire senses, don't pretend you didn't hear me. _Feed._ "

Incredibly, infuriatingly, Eren shook his head. "'M on hunger-strike."

"You're-?" Levi had gone bright red from furious frustration, he was sure of it. The crowd was screaming, and he didn't have to turn to know that Reiner had probably stumbled back to his feet. "Listen to me, you fucking- okay, we don't have a lot of time here. Scratch that, we actually don't have _any_ time here. We are about to die. There is one way that we have even a tiny _sliver_ of a chance of survival, and that is if you take my fucking blood and _fight!_ "

Eyes squeezed shut, Eren shook his head.

" _Why not_?"

"Don't think I'll be able to stop." Eren muttered.

"Once you start drinking, he'll be on us in seconds. If that's not motivation to stop, I don't know what is." Levi shoved his wrist into Eren's face again, feeling soft lips brush at his pulse point. "I'm not going to offer again. And yes, I am _offering_. I don't want to die, and I know you don't either."

There was a split second of hesitation, and then Eren was leaning forward and his mouth was opening wide, revealing his sharp, sharp canines. Levi had barely a second to feel a sudden hesitation, a feeling of _hm maybe this was a bad idea_ before those teeth had sank right into the soft part of his wrist, and he was biting back a scream because _fuck_ it hurt way more than he had originally expected. He could feel a tongue lapping at his torn skin like a kitten with milk, and he fought back a disgusted shudder and tried to ignore the soft moan Eren emitted at the taste of his blood.

Then the crowd was screaming louder and Levi tensed, knowing that they were seconds away from being pounced on. Eren seemed to sense it too, because he sucked hard at the bite on Levi's arm to draw as much blood as he could before pulling away. The sight of Eren with blood spread across his mouth and staining his teeth should not be appealing in the slightest, especially considering it was his own blood, but Levi still found his breath catching at the sight as Eren snarled at Reiner in a challenge. An answering roar echoed throughout the arena, and Levi was shoved roughly to the side by Eren. He landed on his face and sat up quickly, spitting sand out of his mouth as he rolled around to see what was going on. Apparently Eren had pushed him out of the way right as Reiner had pounced, before jumping to his feet and launching himself at his opponent.

It was almost surreal, watching Eren fight. Levi had always imagined vampires as thin pale creatures, creepy things barely straddling the line between life and death. Eren was nothing like that; his body looked as though it'd been carved from bronze, his brown skin sweaty and supple and healthy looking. His eyes shone and his muscles rippled, and Levi was transfixed. He looked the absolute picture of life and vitality; the quick fix of Levi's blood seemed to have worked wonders in the way of energising him.

The two vampires circled each other, snapping and snarling. Eren seemed to be trying to lead Reiner away from Levi, but it was futile. The smell of fresh blood in the air was impossible for either of the vampires to ignore, judging by their constant glances in his direction, even during their fight. Claws slashed and sliced, and eyes drifted towards Levi. Kicks and punches were thrown and blocked, and eyes drifted towards Levi. Teeth sank into flesh, and eyes were _still_ drifting towards Levi.

Now that Eren had drank his little pick-me-up, his strength and speed were beyond anything Levi had ever seen. He wasn't close to full strength yet, the measly sip of blood hadn't been enough for that, but it had lent him enough energy to match each of Reiner's attacks with counterattacks of his own. Their roars and snarls seemed to work the crowd into a frenzy, and their screams added to the cacophony in the arena. Levi could only stare at the audience in pure disgust; they were human, every last one of them. They were a disgrace to the entire race.

After tearing his gaze away from the crowd and the fight, Levi glanced quickly around the pit. There was nothing he could use as a weapon, and there were no exits anywhere he could see. The only way of escape he could see were the doors that he and the vampires had been forced through, each on different sides of the arena. Levi clambered to his feet and ran, trying to ignore the sharp pain in his bitten arm. He came to a stop in front of the door and shoved at it. It didn't budge. Even when he kicked and punched and screamed and hollered at it, the door stayed very firmly where it was. Levi delivered one last punishing kick to the door, and was rewarded with a sharp pain in his big toe.

"Fuck!" Levi hissed, whirling on the spot to face the fight again. Except the vampires were no longer in the middle of the pit.

Eren was bounding straight for him, with Reiner on his heels.

"Move!" Eren yelled, and Levi fell to the side just as Eren and Reiner collided hard with the big wooden door. There was a loud crack as the door splintered and collapsed under the sheer weight and power of the collision.

The crowd screamed louder now, but it was no longer excited. Now they were terrified. The monsters they had paid to see weren't supposed to break free.

"Come on!" Eren grabbed Levi's hand and tugged him forward, oblivious to the way Levi cringed at the feeling of the wet blood on his hands.

Reiner picked himself off the ground with a groan, and tugged a sharp piece of wood out of his palm. "Well, that fucking hurt."

"Stick to the plan!" yelled Eren, and he jumped over the shattered door and began running down the dark hall, pulling Levi behind him.

"What's going on?" Levi screamed, cringing away from Reiner. The guy had tried to _eat_ him and now the two vampires were acting like nothing had happened.

It was difficult to run in the pitch blackness of the corridor and Levi's eyes still hadn't adjusted yet, so he kept stumbling across the uneven ground as he struggled to keep pace with Eren. "This way!"

There were men shouting behind them, apparently in pursuit. Reiner was grinning. "I can smell their fear," he said.

"Fuckin' weirdo." Levi hissed, legs pumping and lungs burning.

And then, ridiculously, Eren started to laugh. It was quiet at first, just a small giggle. But as their pursuers got louder, so did Eren's laughter. And then one of the men shot a gun and the gunshot just narrowly missed Eren's shoulder, and the idiot went to pieces. His howls of laughter echoed through the dark tunnels like thunder, with a slight hysterical edge to it. He sounded insane.

"What the fuck, Eren!" Reiner shouted from somewhere to Levi's left. Instinctually, Levi edged away from him - he didn't grant his trust easily, especially not to creatures who had tried to eat him.

"Sorry!" Eren giggled, "It's a nervous- hahahah- reaction. Happens- heheh- whenever I'm being chased."

"Up here!" Reiner said, and then the ground they were running on began to slant uphill, until they were running up a sharp incline. Eren yanked Levi around a corner, still giggling, and then they found themselves back in a corridor lined with cells. There was a single naked bulb hanging from the ceiling, and it illuminated Reiner as he turned back to Eren and raised an eyebrow. "Got it?"

The hysterical laughter had subsided, although Eren still grinned triumphantly as he raised an ancient looking key in his hand. "Yep!" He stalked towards the first door and stuck the key in, twisting until the lock turned and the door sprang open.

The sound of the men behind them was growing closer, and Levi glanced behind him anxiously. "What the hell is going on?" He hissed.

Eren had begun making his way down the corridor, unlocking every cell he came across and urging the prisoners out. Reiner glanced down at him and raised both his eyebrows. "We're escaping."

"Wow, thanks Goliath, I never would have fucking guessed that myself!" Levi hissed, fists clenching. He _hated_ being left out of the loop, not knowing what was going on or what was going to happen next.

From down the corridor, Eren chuckled. "We've been planning this escape for a long time. Well, technically this is Plan B, since the hunger strike didn't work, but whatever." He opened another door, and his face split into a huge grin as a dark-haired girl stepped out, "Mikasa!" He said, and they hugged.

"Why didn't you tell me you were planning a fucking escape?"

"Because you had to appear surprised." Reiner answered in lieu of Eren, as he was currently in some sort of heartwarming reunion with the dark-haired girl and a little blond guy. Levi turned away and focused on Reiner; he felt like watching them hug and clutch each other was like intruding on something intensely private. "The guards would have suspected something if you hadn't been scared."

"So you let me think I was going to _die_ tonight because you doubted my _acting skills?_ "

Reiner hesitated, "Ah..." He was saved by saying anything further by Eren, who had broken away from his two friends and was now raising his voice to be heard. All the cells lining the corridor were now empty, their occupants gathered around Eren.

"Listen up! We're getting out of here tonight!" Eren shouted, and all the supernatural creatures cheered. Levi felt like he was watching that scene in Shrek 3 where all the fairytale creatures unite to fight back against Prince Charming. "Mikasa, you take a group and lead them out the back exit. It'll lead out into the forest, so you should have a clear run."

The dark-haired girl nodded, and even from this distance Levi could see her eyes gleam yellow.

"Jean, you take another group and lead them out through the arena. They should have evacuated the crowd by now." Eren turned to Reiner next, "You take your group that way, like we discussed." He said, pointing down the dark corridor. Reiner nodded. "Okay people, just like we planned! We all meet up in the town centre! _Go_!"

They scattered, and Mikasa shouted a firm "Be careful!" over her shoulder as she led her group into the darkness.

Levi watched them go, until only he and Eren were left. "What now?"

"We escape too." Eren said, edging back in the direction they had come from. The guards were shouting louder now. They'd be on them any second. "But we need to buy the others some time, first. Can you do that?"

It was impossible, Levi decided, to stare into the bright ocean eyes and say no. He didn't think it could be done. "Whatever."

"Come here." Eren motioned, and Levi followed closely behind him as they started moving back down the dark corridor they had come from. "The main exit is down this way. The guards will be coming up from the pit. We're going to run into them any moment now. I need you to fight as best as you can. It's just to hold them off really. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Levi had to fight back a snort at that one. "As if anyone'll be _able_ to hurt me."

There wasn't enough time for Eren to reply, because then the guards were rounding the corner and charging towards them, shouting and hollering and banging their guns off the stone walls. They could have been right in front of them or on the other end of the corridor - the darkness made it impossible to tell.

The ensuing fight was over in a matter of minutes; Levi fought hard and dirty, using his small stature and the darkness to his total advantage. They weren't vampires, they had no super strength or extreme speed. Their bones were human, hollow and weak and easy to snap. At the end of it, Levi stood panting. He hadn't had to fight like that in a long time. The bite wound on his arm was throbbing and bleeding quite profusely. In the dark, the pain seemed magnified. If he listened closely, Levi could hear slurping noises coming from where he assumed was the bottom of the corridor. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to pretend that he couldn't hear Eren feeding.

After a moment, the slurping stopped and there was some shuffling, presumably Eren getting back to his feet. "Um. We should go."

"Yes." Levi's voice sounded empty and hollow, and he cringed at the sound of it. They fell into step together, silent except for when Eren helped him step across a prone body he couldn't see.

They had been walking for several minutes and had been lucky enough to not meet a single person. They would be nearing the exit soon enough. Eren spoke up. "So. You can fight."

"Yeah."

"You can fight really well. How were you caught in the first place?"

Levi was silent for so long that Eren had almost given up on getting an answer. "They said if I didn't go, they'd take my sister."

"Oh." It was little more than a breath, but it spoke volumes of emotion. Realisation, anger, admiration, and sympathy. They both fell silent again.  


They hadn't spoken in several minutes, and were nearing the end of another corridor when Eren gasped out. "There! The exit!"

All Levi could see was darkness but Eren's vampire vision hadn't let them down so far, so he followed Eren as the other boy broke into a run. As they neared where Eren had pointed, a spot of light came into view. _Stars_. They were nearly at the exit. They both put on bursts of speed, Eren overtaking Levi easily with a breathless laugh. They were only a few steps away when a figure stepped into their path. They both skidded to a stop, and Levi crashed face first into Eren's bare back.

By some kind of sheer miracle, the man hadn't noticed them. He appeared too preoccupied with picking his nose. Levi could feel Eren take a small step back, and heard him whisper "Shit. I wanted to get out of here quietly."

"Why can't we just run passed him?" Levi whispered back, so quietly that only Eren could pick it up.

"He's beside the alarm," he pointed at a small red button on the wall beside where the man was lazily pacing. "If he sounds it, every remaining guard in the area will come racing over here."

"So distract him."

"Me?" Eren sounded startled.

"Yeah. _You're_ the super strong vampire. If you could get away from those leprechauns, you can get away from anything, right?"

"Right." Eren nodded determinedly, "So.. What do I do?"

"I don't know! Just.. say something distracting!" Levi shrugged, and Eren nodded and then tottered forward. Levi watched from the shadows, staying as still as he possibly could.

The guard didn't notice Eren until he was only a foot away, "Hey, who the hell are you?"

Eren had frozen, eyes comically wide. And then he opened his mouth and blurted "One time, I accidentally sucked a whole cucumber up my asshole."

Un _fucking_ believable. There was a surprised and mildly uncomfortable silence, and then Eren punched the guard very hard in the face. The man crumpled, and Levi ran forwards. "What the actual _fuck_?"

"I panicked!" Eren yelled back, "Just come on!"

They ran, and then they were outside and the air was crisp and dry, the sky stretching out above them twinkling almost brighter than Levi could handle. It was cold, but the feeling of freedom made him giddy, and he could feel a grin stretching across his lips. Gunshots sounded from nearby, and they ducked and kept running.

There were several huge SUV's lined up in a row in front of the building they had just escaped from, and Eren ran for one and yanked the door open. "Hey, can you drive?"

Levi had pulled himself into the drivers seat before Eren had even finished his sentence, and was busy pulling wires out from underneath the steering wheel. "Uh.. Yeah." Wires clashed, and Levi sighed in relief when the engine roared to life. He glanced down at the gears. "It's an automatic. Should be easy enough."

Eren had been busy glancing over his shoulder, keeping an eye out for any guards that might be sneaking up on them. At Levi's words, he turned back around with a deep frown. "What do you mean, should be easy en-" he was cut off as the car jolted backwards rather violently.

"Oops, that's reverse." Levi muttered to himself, pushing at the gear. "Put your seatbelt on."

"You said you could drive!"

"I _can!_ Kinda."

"What the fuck does _kinda_ mean?" Eren demanded, right as the sound of gunshots and angry shouts filled the air. Guards were pouring out of the underground facility and had apparently caught sight of them. "Shit, never mind. Just drive!"

Levi slammed his foot down on the accelerator and the SUV jumped forwards, engine roaring and wheels spinning. "Where the fuck am I driving to?"

"That way!" Eren screeched, pointing at a narrow path.  
The vehicle tore down the path at a dangerous speed, jolting every time they went over a bump in the road. "It'll lead us back to town!"

The men and the building faded into the distance behind them, but Levi didn't ease up on the gas pedal. He wasn't taking any chances just yet.

\--

They pulled into the back of a supermarket carpark about twenty minutes later, and they both almost fell out of the SUV. The adrenaline of the fight and the escape had worn off, and Levi felt exhaustion seep into his very skeleton. He wanted to go home and curl up with Isabel and Farlan and forget that any of this had ever happened.

"Hey," Eren said quietly. He was leaning against the hood of the SUV and staring up at the stars. "You're a shit driver. You ever actually take lessons?"

"No."

"You said you could drive!"

"I got us out of there, didn't I?" Levi snapped irritably. 

"You can hot wire a car, but you can't _drive_?" 

Levi shot him a venomous glare. "Did you _really_ suck a whole cucumber up your asshole?"

"....Please don't tell anyone you heard me say that." They both laughed then, tired and a little bit hysterical. Eren smiled at him, and the sight nearly took Levi's breath away. "Thanks. You were amazing back there."

"You weren't too bad yourself." Levi murmured, "Your escape plan was a success."

"I wouldn't have been able to pull it off if you hadn't done what you did in the pit," His bright eyes drifted to the bite mark on Levi's arm, "I was weak, and I would've been useless if you hadn't been so brave."

"I wasn't brave, I just wanted you to get up so you could stop that other guy from killing me." Embarrassment made his ears turn red and hot, even in the cold night air.

"You were brave." Eren insisted. He rolled his shoulders and sighed. "I just hope everyone else made it out."

Levi really didn't have any doubt that they had. They were very angry supernatural creatures on the loose in a facility that had kept them captive for god knows how long. No one would be able to stand between them and freedom. He said so to Eren, and watched the faint smile spread across his face. He wanted to see more of those smiles; he liked the crinkles that appeared at the corners of Eren's eyes, and the dimples in his cheeks.  
"You're not what I expected vampires to be like." He said eventually.

"A lot of people say that." confessed Eren. "Are you disappointed?"

Levi thought for a moment. "No." he decided. There was nothing disappointing about the vampire standing before him.

The kiss was unexpected, but nice. Eren's lips were warm and soft, which Levi hadn't expected. _Twilight_ had kind of conditioned him to expect it to feel like kissing a marble wall - but no, it was gentle and sweet and Levi really didn't want to break apart.

It was Eren who broke away first, although he looked reluctant. "I should go and find my friends."

"Yeah." agreed Levi, nodding shakily and stepping back. He had to take a deep breath to steady himself. "Yeah. Go make sure everyone is safe."

"Will you be able to get home?"

Levi jerked a thumb at the SUV. "Sure."

"Um." It was almost painful, how transparent Eren could be. He scuffed his shoe off the ground sheepishly, obviously searching for something else to say. "Would you like- uh.. Do you want to meet up again sometime maybe?"

Despite his exhaustion, and his lingering fear and desperation, a smile tugged at Levi's lips. "Yeah. I would."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm going home to my friends first and I'm taking a really long fucking shower. And then I'm going to sleep for two days. But after that, I'd like to meet up again. We have unfinished business."

"We do?" Eren frowned.

"Sure. I never got to hear the end of that leprechaun story."


End file.
